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Press From Our Archives

"The Long Good-bye" The third installment of World News America's series on Alzheimer's explores the work of gene hunters. After decades of searching, five Alzheimer's disease genes have been discovered. But they are only a few pieces of a very complex puzzle. Scientists believe that there could be a number of key genes that haven't yet been found. The best chance of developing a cure for Alzheimer's is if gene hunters can track down the rest. Dr. Richard Mayeux, co-director of the Taub Institute, discovered more than 10 years ago that elderly members of New York's Dominican community were three times as likely to suffer from Alzheimer's as other ethnic groups. He wanted to find out the genetic reason why. So he set up a study [of Dominican families], which has become one of the largest in the world. (BBC News, July 30, 2008)

The The secrets to a long and healthy life. More and more people are living longer. But living to extreme old age is unusual and tends to run in some families. The Long Life Family Study, supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aims to learn more about the secrets to long healthy life, and investigators are seeking long-lived families to help study this important question. The current study recruitment builds on efforts during an earlier phase of the research, in which several hundred families took part. Dr. Richard Mayeux is among the study's lead researchers.Â http://www.longlifefamilystudy.org/ (NEWSMEDICAL.NET)

"Gene abnormality linked to early-onset Parkinson's". Dr. Lorraine Clark and other researchers found a genetic abnormality that may greatly raise the likelihood of developing early Parkinson's disease. Their finding could lead to new treatments for the fatal brain ailment. (This study is published in Neurology.)

"Mediterranean Diet May Boost Alzheimer's Survival". Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas is lead author on a study which finds that Alzheimer's patients who were following the Mediterranean diet had longer survival as compared to those who were following the diet less. US News and World Report, September 10, 2007. (The study is published in the Sept. 11 issue of Neurology.)

Public Health and Aging; An Introduction to Maximizing Function & Well-Being Steven M. Albert, Ph.D. This book provides a systematic account of the field of public health and aging.

"Stroke and the Risk of Alzheimer Disease" Dr. Lawrence Honig and Columbia University Medical Center researchers have found that stroke puts a person at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Archives of Neurology: Vol. 60 No. 12, December 2003

"Alzheimer's In The Family", Dr. Richard Mayeux is leading the NIA Alzheimer's Disease Genetics Initiative. Time Magazine, November 24, 2003

"Columbia Researchers Identify Possible New Culprit In Alzheimer's disease Plaque Formation" The study is published in the online edition of Nature Medicine and was featured in the April issue of the publication.